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Now it's time to create your own ecosystem!

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The structure of an ecosystem is basically a description of the species of organisms that are present, including information on their life histories, populations and distribution in space. It is a guide to who's who in the ecosystem. It also includes descriptive information on the non-living (physical) features of environment, including the amount and distribution of nutrients.

The structure of ecosystem provides information about the range of climatic conditions that prevail in the area. From structural point of view all ecosystems consist of following four basic components:

1. Abiotic Substances:

These include basic inorganic and organic compounds of the environment or habitat of the organism. The inorganic components of an ecosystem are carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen, calcium, phosphate, all of which are involved in matter cycles (biogeochemical cycles).

The organic components of an ecosystem are proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids, all of which are synthesized by the biota (flora and fauna) of an ecosystem and are reached to ecosystem as their wastes, dead remains, etc, The climate, temperature, light, soil, etc., are other abiotic components of the ecosystem.

Producers are autotrophic organisms like chemosynthetic and photosynthetic bacteria, blue green algae, algae and all other green plants. They are called ecosystem producers because they capture energy from non-organic sources, especially light, and store some of the energy the form of chemical bonds, for the later use.

Algae of various types are the most important producers of aquatic ecosystems, although in estuaries and marshes, grasses may be important as producers. Terrestrial ecosystems have trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, and mosses that contribute with varying importance to the production of the ecosystem.

Since heterotrophic organisms depend on plants and other autotrophic Organisms like bacteria and algae for their nutrition, the amount of energy that the producers capture, sets the limit on the availability of energy for the ecosystem. Thus, when a green plant captures a certain amount of energy from sunlight, it is said to "produce" the energy for the ecosystem.

They are heterotrophic organisms in the ecosystem which eat other living creatures. There are herbivores, which eat plants, and carnivores, which eat other animals. They are also called phagotrophs or macroconsumers. Sometimes herbivores are called primary macroconsumers and carnivores are called secondary Macroconsumers.

4. Reducers or Decomposers:

Reducers, decomposers, saprotrophs or Macroconsumers are heterotrophic organisms that breakdown dead and waste matter. Fungi and certain bacteria are the prime representatives of this category. Enzymes are secreted by their cells into or onto dead plant and animal debris. These chemicals digest the dead organism into smaller bits or molecules, which can be absorbed by the fungi or bacteria (saprotrophs).

The decomposers take the energy and matter that they harvest during this feeding process for their own metabolism. Heat is liberated in each chemical conversion along the metabolic pathway.

No ecosystem could function long without decomposers. Dead organisms would pile up without rotting, as would waste products. It would not be long before an essential element, phosphorus, for example, would be first in short supply and then gone altogether, because the dead corpses littering the landscape would be hoarding the entire supply.

Thus, the importance of the decomposers to the ecosystem is that they tear apart organisms and in their metabolic processes release to the environment atoms and molecules that can be reused again by autotrophic organisms. They are not important to the ecosystem from the energy point of view but from the material (nutrient) point of view. Energy cannot be recycled, but matter can be.

Energy must be fed into ecosystem to keep up with the dissipation of heat or the increase in entropy.

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4 Basic Components of Ecosystem - Discussed!

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ADVERTISEMENTS: Basic Components of Ecosystem ! The structure of an ecosystem is basically a description of the species of organisms that are present, including information on their life histories, populations and distribution in space. It is a guide to who's who in the ecosystem. It also includes descriptive information on the non-living (physical) features of ...

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Watch what an ecosystem is made up of.

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The incredible and fragile Coral reefs.

Also called the "rainforests of the sea", Coral reefs are complex ecosystems under the sea. Corals are hard calcium carbonate structures built by small polyps, lots of people mistake them for rocks but they are alive! Corals form a base for many other ocean creatures like worms, sponges, jellyfish, sea turtles and lots of fish. Coral reefs are very fragile and complex systems and easily damaged by pollution and global warming.
Tropical rainforests host half of the animal and plant species in the world.
Near the equator where the weather is usually hot and humid, Tropical rainforests prosper. Heat and lots of rain are what make plants and trees grow lushly. Half of all types of living things live in tropical rainforests. This ecosystem is home to many species of plants, animals, fungi and microscopic organisms that find their ideal habitat here and nowhere else on the planet. Remember also that tropical rainforests provide the Earth with 40% of all the world's oxygen.
Learning to save water is essential to live in the desert.
It doesn't rain much in the world's deserts. Here the land is really dry. Animals and plants that live in deserts have creative ways of not wasting any water. Cactuses store water in their trunks and have no leaves, only thorns. They can live for months without any rainfall. One animal that never drinks water is the kangaroo mouse that lives in the Nevada desert. It gets all the water it needs from the seeds it eats.
Grasslands are found all over.
The only continent without grasslands is Antarctica. Grasslands are plains with an average rainfall, where all types of grasses, herbs and flowers grow together. Grasslands can be found in America where they are called prairies and in Africa too. Here they are called savannahs, or in Asia where they are called steppes. Grasslands are home to many different species that live on and under the soil, eat the grass or who prey on the grass-eaters. In the United States these animals are buffalos and wolves, in Africa gazelles and lions.
Freshwater ecosystems have rare species.
There are many species that do not live in salt water. Freshwater ecosystems are wherever there is fresh water. Frogs, fish, crayfish, bivalves, insects and microscopic organisms like amoebas populate ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers. Bigger animals also live in or near fresh water. Some of these are otters and beavers in Europe and America, crocodiles and hippos in Africa, platypuses in Australia and rare river dolphins in Asia and South America.
Life is harsh in the Tundra.
The weather in the tundra is wintery all year round, windy and cold. You can find tundra near the north and south poles of the Earth. They are called Arctic and Antarctic tundra. There is also tundra near the top of the world's tallest mountains. Life is difficult here, the vegetation is resistant to the cold, there are shrubs, mosses and lichens. Reindeer and rabbits eat these and are prey to foxes, wild lynx and polar bears. The Antarctic tundra is a resting place for seals and penguins.
There are ecosystems at the bottom of the ocean.
The bottom of the ocean receives no light from the sun so how can plants and animals live? It's so cold and dark! In certain areas at the bottom of oceans there are Hydrothermal Vents. These are small underwater volcanoes that emit very hot water along with gases like methane and chemicals like ammonia. Some animals like clams and shrimp live near these vents. A weird worm also lives here, it's called giant tube worm and it's six feet long! It has special bacteria inside that transform the methane and ammonia from the vents into food.
Wetlands are fish nurseries.
Wetlands are found near bodies of fresh and/or salt water. Here we can see bogs, swamps and marshes. They can also be found at a river's estuary or delta. These are areas where salt or fresh water dominate or even a mixture of the two. Lots of aquatic plants and animals live here. Alligators, crocodiles , frogs and many fish lay their eggs here because it is a safe place to hatch and grow. Insects also like the humidity and mosquitos and dragonflies thrive.
Many trees are found in Boreal forests.
Between the Arctic and the subtropics is a temperate region. Here the climate is neither too hot or too cold and the year is divided into seasons. A large part of North America, Europe, and Asia is in a temperate region. There are lots of big forests of pine, spruce and larch trees. These have needles and most are green all year round. Brown bears, wolves, deer, porcupines and eagles live in these great forests.
There are ecosystems even in big cities.
Since an ecosystem by definition is everything that lives in a particular environment we can say that big cities around the world are peculiar ecosystems. People share their living space with many animals, birds and insects. Raccoons, coyotes, foxes, skunks, boar, mice, rats and deer are only a few. To allow these animals a safe way into and out of cities there are special bridges called wildlife crossings where animals can cross over busy roads in safety from traffic.

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10 different ecosystems on Earth - MeteoHeroes

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The incredible and fragile Coral reefs. Also called the "rainforests of the sea", Coral reefs are complex ecosystems under the sea. Corals are hard calcium carbonate structures built by small polyps, lots of people mistake them for rocks but they are alive! Corals form a base for many other ocean creatures like worms, sponges, jellyfish, ...

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An ecosystem is the community of biological organisms, where they interact with their physical environment.

That is the correct definition, but we could sum up this definition by saying that an ecosystem is the set of living things in a place, plus that place .

Types of Ecosystems According to the Environment

As we have seen there are many types of ecosystems and it would be impossible to classify them all but there are some general classifications that can be used for their study. Let's look at several main ways of classifying ecosystems.

1. Aquatic Ecosystem

They are made up of plants and animals that live in the water. These ecosystems differ in relation to the geographic region where they exist (Antarctica, Subantarctic, tropical and subtropical) and their proximity to the land (coastal, oceanic and estuarine ecosystems).
Aquatic (as well as terrestrial) ecosystems can vary widely in size from an ocean to a pool of water. There are also aquatic ecosystems of salt and fresh water.

This kind of ecosystem talk about living things in the water. The organisms acquire physical characteristics very similar to each other as a result of their adaptation to the water. In this ecosystem the variations of temperatures are not very marked, reason why this does not affect the survival of the alive beings. This ecosystem is the largest because they represent 75%.

According to different habitats of aquatic organism, aquatic ecosystem are various kinds and divided into the following:

Benthic: these are located at the bottom of aquatic ecosystems. In those that are not very deep, the main inhabitants are algae. In the deeper ones, the majority are consumers.

Nectonic: these animals move freely, thanks to their means of locomotion can adapt to water currents.

Planktonic: these living beings live floating in the terrestrial or marine water and are dragged by the water currents, they do not move by their own movements.

Neustonic: these live on the surface of the water, floating.

Terrestrial ecosystems, such as the aquatic ecosystem, present a series of landscapes that have their own characteristics. So According to the characteristics of landscapes aquatic ecosystem is the following:

- Wetland : is a zone of flat lands that has groundwater of shallow depth and that ascend to the surface in determined periods, forming lagoons and marshes, until where they come to live hundreds of species. There are five classes of wetlands: marine, estuarine, lake, riparian and marshy.

- Mangrove : is a grouping of semi-submerged trees that have been flooded with water, with high levels of salinity and therefore they develop and survive in coastal lands. The trees grow on long roots, which like stilts raise the trunks above the level of the waters. To reproduce, they quickly retain the seeds in the branches until they are about to develop. When the tide goes down they are able, within a few hours, to root and begin to grow before being again underwater.

- Coral reef : it is one of the richest aquatic ecosystems of the planet, product of the great amount of species that inhabit in them (fish, snails, corals and algae). The reef structure consists of large colonies of corals, accumulations of sediments and calcareous sands. They are found mainly in tropical regions and there are two types of coral: hard and soft.

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2. Terrestrial Ecosystem

They are those zones or regions where organisms (animals, plants, etc.) live and develop in the soil and in the air that surrounds a certain terrestrial space. In these places it is assumed that living things that inhabit the ecosystem find everything they need to be able to survive.

Depending on the abiotic factors of each ecosystem, there are different types of terrestrial habitats: deserts, grasslands and forests.
Terrestrial ecosystems are part of other larger ecosystems, called biomass or ecological regions. These zones are delimited by latitude, climate, temperature and the level of precipitations. In the next issues will be treated in depth ecological regions.

This ecosystem develops on the surface of the Earth called Biosphere. The most wide individuals in this ecosystem are insects, of which there are 900,000 species. The birds would occupy the second place, with about 8,500 species. Third, mammals of which there are 4,100 species. Unlike the aquatic ecosystem, in the terrestrial the individuals present much more varied characteristics, this is due to the numerous factors that condition the species. Among these the most important are: solar radiation, availability of water, nutrients and light. Another feature of this ecosystem is the need for both vegetables and animals to have water for the hydration of their organisms, so that without it they could not survive.

Tropical forests : These are tropical forests that receive an average rainfall of 80 per 400 inches annually. The forests are characterized by dense vegetation comprising tall trees at different heights. Each level is a haven for different types of animals.

- Tropical forests : usually have extremely dense ecosystems because there are so many different types of animals and they all live in a very small area. They have a high biodiversity in plants and animals; Is also one of the oldest ecosystems of the planet and they are below the 1200 meters of height; The temperature and light remain constant throughout the year.

- Temperate forest : Those who have a good number of trees like mosses and ferns are for them. Temperate forests exist in regions where the climate changes significantly from summer to winter. Summers and winters are clearly defined and trees lose their leaves during the winter months.

-Swamp : Situated just before the Arctic regions, swamp is defined by evergreen conifers. The temperature is below zero degrees for almost half a year, the rest of the months, is full of migratory birds and insects.

- Tundra : It has an extremely cold climate. The ground remains frozen for much of the year. In the summer it thaws, But only a few centimeters. Its rainfall is very low, so it reduces the growth of living organisms. There are no large trees, only small plants (mosses, lichens and other tree species).

- Desert : found in regions that receive annual rainfall of less than 25%. They occupy about 17% of all the land on our planet. Due to the high temperatures, low availability of water and intense sunlight, the fauna and flora are scarce and underdeveloped.

- Savanna : Tropical meadows are seasonally dry and have few individual trees. They support a large number of predators and herbivores.

- Grassland : The temperate of grassland are completely devoid of large shrubs and trees. Grasslands could be categorized as mixed grass, tall grass and grassy meadows.

- Mountain : offers a dispersed and diverse matrix of habitats where a large number of animals and plants can be found. In the higher areas, the harsh environmental conditions that normally prevail, and where only the alpine vegetation without trees can survive. The animals that live there have thick fur coats for preventing cold and hibernation in the winter months. Offers a dispersed and diverse matrix of habitats where large numbers of animals and plants can be found. In the higher areas, the harsh environmental conditions that normally prevail, and where only the alpine vegetation without trees can survive. The animals that live there have thick fur coats for preventing cold and hibernation in the winter months.

3. Air Ecosystem

This type of ecosystem has the particularity of being of transition. No living being dwells permanently, But have to descend to the land for rest, feeding or procreation, so it is not self-sufficient. Because of this, some place it within the terrestrial ecosystem.

Types According to the Degree of Human Intervention

1.Natural Ecosystems : Man has not intervened in their formation, such as forests, lakes, deserts.

2.Artificial Ecosystems : Man actively participates in its formation, such as dams, parks, gardens.

Types According to Size

- Micro-Ecosystems : As tiny as a drop of water, a vase with water, a pot, etc.

- Macro-Ecosystem : As big as the lake of Maracaibo, the Caribbean Sea, the mountain range of the Andes, etc.

Conservation of Ecosystems

Because of human activity there are many ecosystems in danger , so it is very important that we become aware of the conservation of the ecosystem in which we live. You can and here we leave you some things you can do for your ecosystem.

Try to reduce the amount of fuel and resources your family uses.

Limit all you can consumption and all waste. Recycling would be best.

Uses products called "Environment Friendly" products made to be environmentally safe.

Try not to alter your surroundings. Respect your environment.

Try to make moderate use of water.

It uses urban means of transport like buses or trains, Although the best is the bicycle.

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List of Different Types of Ecosystem With Example

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An ecosystem is the community of biological organisms, where they interact with their physical environment. That is the correct definition, but we could sum up this definition by saying that an ecosystem is the set of living things in a place, plus that place .

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Learn the definition of an ecosystem.

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Discover the important parts that make up an ecosystem.

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We're All in This Together

Everything in the natural world is connected. An ecosystem is a community of living and non-living things that work together. Ecosystems have no particular size.

An ecosystem can be as large as a desert or a lake or as small as a tree or a puddle. If you have a terrarium, that is an artificial ecosystem. The water, water temperature, plants, animals, air, light and soil all work together. If there isn't enough light or water or if the soil doesn't have the right nutrients, the plants will die. If the plants die, animals that depend on them will die. If the animals that depend on the plants die, any animals that depend on those animals will die. Ecosystems in nature work the same way. All the parts work together to make a balanced system!

The More the Merrier

A healthy ecosystem has lots of species diversity and is less likely to be seriously damaged by human interaction, natural disasters and climate changes. Every species has a niche in its ecosystem that helps keep the system healthy. We are learning about new species every day, and we are just figuring out the roles they play in the natural world. By studying and maintaining biodiversity, we help keep our planet healthy.

Life in a Lake

In a lake ecosystem, the sun hits the water and helps the algae grow. Algae produces oxygen for animals like fish, and provides food for microscopic animals. Small fish eat the microscopic animals, absorb oxygen with their gills and expel carbon dioxide, which plants then use to grow. If the algae disappeared, everything else would be impacted. Microscopic animals wouldn't have enough food, fish wouldn't have enough oxygen and plants would lose some of the carbon dioxide they need to grow.

Getting Along

Ecosystems have lots of different living organisms that interact with each other. The living organisms in an ecosystem can be divided into three categories: producers, consumers and decomposers. They are all important parts of an ecosystem.

Producers are the green plants. They make their own food. Consumers are animals and they get their energy from the producers or from organisms that eat producers.

There are three types of consumers: herbivores are animals that eat plants, carnivores are animals that eat herbivores and sometimes other carnivores and omnivores are animals that eat plants and other animals.

The third type of living organism in an ecosystem is the decomposers. Decomposers are plants and animals that break down dead plants and animals into organic materials that go back into the soil, which is where we started!

Parts and Pieces

What are the major parts of an ecosystem? An ecosystem includes soil, atmosphere, heat and light from the sun, water and living organisms.

Getting Down and Dirty

Soil is a critical part of an ecosystem. It provides important nutrients for the plants in an ecosystem. It helps anchor the plants to keep them in place. Soil absorbs and holds water for plants and animals to use and provides a home for lots of living organisms.

Give Me a Little Air

The atmosphere provides oxygen and carbon dioxide for the plants and animals in an ecosystem. The atmosphere is also part of the water cycle. Without the complex interactions and elements in the atmosphere, there would be no life at all!

Getting Some Sun

The heat and light from the sun are critical parts of an ecosystem. The sun's heat helps water evaporate and return to the atmosphere where it is cycled back into water. The heat also keeps plants and animals warm. Without light from the sun there would be no photosynthesis and plants wouldn't have the energy they need to make food.

Water Everywhere

Without water there would be no life. Water is a large percentage of the cells that make up all living organisms. In fact, you may have heard that humans can go longer without food than they can without water. It's true! Without water all life would die. In addition to being an important part of cells, water is also used by plants to carry and distribute the nutrients they need to survive.

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Everything in the natural world is connected. An ecosystem is a community of living and non-living things that work together. Ecosystems have no particular size. An ecosystem can be as large as a desert or a lake or as small as a tree or a puddle.

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Check out this simple ecosystem.

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An ecosystem includes all of the living things in a given area, interacting with each other, and also with their non-living environments. Find out what the levels and organisations of ecosystems are.